


A collection of events

by MyBrokenBoy



Category: The Grinning Man - Philips & Teitler/Grose & Morris & Philips & Teitler/Grose
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:00:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27233872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyBrokenBoy/pseuds/MyBrokenBoy
Summary: I guess this will be one or several (?) oneshots focusing on young Grinpayne and Dea and their father (and of course Mojo) that I will sporadically update. Not really sure where I want to go with this yet. HUGE hurt/comfort tag here, it's what keeps me going.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

“Grinpayne, let’s go to the market.”

The boy jumped down the stairs of the cart. In the past two months, his bruises and aching muscles had healed and his energy had returned to him. Yet as soon as they passed the first passer-by, Grinpayne stopped dead in his tracks and clasped his father’s arm tightly. He tried to stay as close to Ursus as possible and whispered to him, “that man was staring at me.”

“Was he, really? You must have imagined it. I didn’t see anyone looking at us.”

He had tried to react to Grinpayne in a casual manner, but knew something like this was bound to happen. But he couldn’t leave the child alone in the cart either. In his other arm Ursus held baby Dea, now two months old.

As they approached town they met more people, and therefore more stares.

It made Grinpayne feel uncomfortable, and he stared at the ground whenever his eyes crossed with a stranger. He never let go of his father’s hand but instead clasped it tightly, his palms becoming sweaty from nerves.

But the real trouble started when strolling the marketplace. The stares and curious looks became constant and sometimes a small group would form around Grinpayne when Ursus wasn’t noticing. He had handed Dea to Grinpayne, it was easier when buying supplies, and would sometimes lose track of his children for a moment when his back was turned to them. Grinpayne would stand close to his father, always holding him, either his hand or coat, afraid of what might happen if he lost his father. But the baby in his arms made it difficult to do so. When Ursus thanked the seller and turned around again he was met with a group of people that had formed around him and his son, and Grinpayne giving him a hopeless stare.

“What’s this all about?” He asked the crowd, beginning to feel uneasy himself as well. With his free arm he gently pushed Grinpayne in motion in front of him. They needed to get out of there. A small gap had formed in the crowd and he steered Grinpayne in that direction. But the exit was all of a sudden blocked by another spectator, who took a gander at Grinpayne with an amused wide grin and then said to Ursus: “Nice freak you got there, bet he makes loads of money.”

Hearing these words made Ursus’ blood boil from anger. With his hand still on Grinpayne’s shoulder he pulled the boy behind him protectively and spat back at the man: “Listen here, you piece of shit, this is my son we’re talking about. He was in a terrible accident. If I ever hear that remark again I swear you will regret it.”

But the man only scoffed and laughed. “You know, I’d pay good money to see that aberration on a stage and lay my eyes on the deformity it’s hiding behind those bandages.”

And then, without any hesitation or second thought, Ursus punched the man in the face with his fist. The loud crack of glasses that were smashed startled Grinpayne, who quickly moved behind his father again, silently crying by now, clutching Dea in his arms and protecting her from the uproar in the crowd. The verbal assailant collapsed to the ground and was caught by bystanders.

“Didn’t I just warn you?!” Ursus scolded.

There was a commotion in the crowd, the uncertainty of starting a fight or making way for the assaulter and his son sent a surge of electricity through the mob. Men and women were shouting to no one in particular, and the man who had received the punch was carried off, bleeding from the nose and unconscious.

The crowd fell apart, and Ursus took Grinpayne by the arm and rushed from the scene, disappearing into the small alleys of the town. His heart was pumping fast and heat rushed through his body. Only when they were well away from the marketplace did Ursus begin to notice the pain in his hand and the tears falling down Grinpayne’s face. He stopped and kneeled next to the boy. “Are you alright, lad? Did they hurt you?”

Grinpayne shook his head, looking away and staring at the ground again.

“Did they hurt your sister? Here, let me have her.”

He put the groceries down and took Dea in his arms again. Yet Grinpayne gasped when he saw Ursus’ hand that had given the blow. It was bleeding, and was turning purple. Ursus noticed it too now and chuckled, “I may have lashed out a bit too hard. But the bastard deserved it.”

Without thinking, Grinpayne reached into the pockets of his father’s coat. He knew his father always carried an extra pair of bandages with him in case Grinpayne’s wounds would start to bleed again all of a sudden.

“Let me help you,” Grinpayne muttered, and Ursus, seeing the boy wanted to do something in return, gladly held out his bruised hand with a smile on his face. With a few directions from his father Grinpayne soon tied the bandages neatly together. Ursus thanked Grinpayne and with his now bandaged hand ruffled his boy’s wild curls.

“Papa, am I really a freak?”

“Grinpayne, don’t listen to what those people were saying. You’re my son.” Ursus’ hand stroke the boy’s bandaged cheeks. “You’re beautiful as you are. Do you hear me?”

Tears were once again stinging in Grinpayne’s eyes. Ursus took the boy into an embrace with his available arm, “hush boy, don’t cry. It’s alright. You are not a freak. You’re my broken boy. But we’re mending you, remember? You are going to be fine.” Ursus spoke to the boy in hushed tones as he soothingly rubbed his back. “Let’s go home now.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Dea, listen to me. No, we’ll put the gloves on in a minute. First listen to me: you can play outside with Grinpayne but when I call you two in again for lunch you are going to have a nap afterwards, alright?”   
Dea, in the meantime, was fidgeting with her gloves. She was too excited to play in the snow. Ursus had barely been able to contain his children this morning after Grinpayne had looked out of the small window and exclaimed that there was a “thick white blanket covering the earth”, as he mockingly liked to call it, remembering the line from a book he had read.   
“Dea, did you listen to me? We are not going to play outside all day long.”   
“Yes, papa,” Dea replied in an annoyed manner. He tightened the scarf around her neck once more, then squeezed her arms. “And don’t take off your gloves. It’s too cold outside.”   
“Yes, papa,” she repeated, but not actually listening. Her hands were already searching for Grinpayne, who himself was also wearing a thick coat – too big – and a scarf and an old pair of gloves. He took her hand and then opened the door.   
“Grinpayne be kind to your sister!” Ursus said as the children hurried outside giggling. Grinpayne promised he would.

Mojo was sleeping next to the fire, and Ursus was already preparing dinner for later that day. From outside he heard the children laughing and shouting. At least they were enjoying the weather. For him, it made work almost impossible, travel likewise. Although they weren’t short on supplies, this kind of weather was unpredictable. It could be days, weeks, before the roads were available again. And the cold... Not even the fire could keep them warm on the coldest days. It was no life, and yet it was _their_ life. The rebellion hadn’t made things any easier, either. All had been in vain. He gave a sigh as he was peeling potatoes. “Just a few more years,” he said to Mojo, “and then we’ll have enough money to leave this rotten place.” Then all of a sudden, there were cries from outside. Dea was crying. When he stepped outside into the frost, he found her close to the cart in the snow. White snow tangled in her hair and clothes. Grinpayne gave his father a suspicious look, as if he knew what was coming. Snow crunched under Ursus’ boots as he approached Dea.   
“What happened, Dea,” he asked as he lifted her out of the snow onto her feet and brushed the snow off her coat. The white landscape barely offered contrast to her white facial features.   
“Grinpayne put snow in my neck,” she cried, her hands trying to reach the inside of her coat at the back of her neck. “It’s cold!”   
Ursus chuckled.   
“But that’s no reason to cry, is it? Here, this is what you do.” He called Grinpayne to him, caught him with a grin, and before the boy even had a chance to react, Ursus - with his other hand - scooped a nice layer of the cold snow in Grinpayne’s neck as well. Grinpayne began to laugh as he tried to struggle free from his father’s arm and Dea joined the laughter. As a reply, Grinpayne threw a load of snow in the direction of his father before jolting away.   
“Have mercy on your father, boy! I am not dressed for a snowball fight.”   
Dea laughed even harder, and she too scooped small hands of snow in her father’s direction.   
“See what you’re doing, Grinpayne. Turning your sister against me!”   
To make matters worse, Mojo had also jumped into the snow to investigate what was going on. And when Ursus took a few steps back to escape the snow avalanche his children were now sending his way he tripped over his companion and fell backwards in the snow with a loud thud. Grinpayne laughed and Mojo gave a sneeze of approval, but Dea gasped. When Ursus assured her he was alright, she began to laugh as well. His back was wet and freezing, and he told the children twenty more minutes before lunch and went back inside to change, shaking his head with a smile on his face.

The children were out of breath and aglow when they rushed inside past Ursus twenty minutes later. A pink blush was on their cheeks, and their ears and noses red from the cold. Grinpayne immediately sat at the table ready to eat, but Ursus stopped him.   
“Wouldn’t you rather change out of those wet clothes, Grinpayne? I laid out a new set on the bed. There’s also a towel.”   
Then Ursus turned to Dea, “I’ll help you change out of those wet clothes, child.” It wasn’t often Dea had such a healthy colour in her face. Her eyes pierced right through his soul when he kneeled beside her and helped her out of her damp clothes. She was tired, causing her whole face to become warm, yet her teeth were clattering. He made her wear her favourite dress, and also two pairs of socks, seeing that her toes were turning slightly blue as usual in this time of the year, and gave her an extra blanket to wear around her shoulders. Both children ate in front of the fire with a cup of hot milk. While Dea was napping Grinpayne turned to his studies... reluctantly, and all would be quiet in the cart for several hours.


End file.
